Today’s Thought: Should You Trust People Who Lie?

I had a colleague who lied. It didn’t take long to figure out that every time he/she moved his/her lips he/she was spilling a half truth, misrepresentation, or an outright lie. He/she was personally engaging so people ignored his/her lies. After a while those who worked with him/her knew they couldn’t trust him/her. The problem being, he/she was responsible for guiding students through their doctoral work. His/her students suffered because other faculty couldn’t trust him/her when he/she said his/her students were ready to defend their dissertation. Lying matters whether it is in an academic department, a relationship between two people, or by people running for office. People with integrity don’t knowingly lie to mislead others.